Tag Archive:
99th percentile

I came to the LSAT from a different place than most. When I first encountered the LSAT, I had already been teaching GMAT and GRE classes for a few years. My former employer sent me to a training to learn how to teach the LSAT before I had even taken a full practice test.

I’ve always been a strong standardized test taker. I never did any formal prep for the SATs and pulled off a perfect verbal score anyway. Let’s pause for a moment so you can curse me.

I’m basically a dinosaur in LSAT years, since I took the test way back in October 2011, when I had to walk uphill both ways barefoot in the snow to get to my testing center. Through a combination of smart preparation and good luck, I scored a 178 that day (woo hoo!), and today I’d like to share my story with you young whippersnappers, along with some tips to help you replicate my success.

You may notice a theme in these stories, which is that many of the authors — current and former Blueprint LSAT instructors — started off with ridiculously high scores, and, rather than seeing a jump of thirty points to get into the 170s like many neophytes would need, it’s a jump of ten or fifteen points. I hear you, and, unfortunately, I’m once again going to give you a story that starts off at what many others would dream of as a test day score.

On my way to the 99th percentile, I had three significant LSAT scores. My first practice LSAT, my first official LSAT, and my second official LSAT scores.

The First Practice Test

I took my first practice LSAT at a Starbucks. A friend of mine came along and also did a practice test. I didn’t know anything about what would be on the test, I just had some vague ideas about how it’s pretty hard-to-impossible to study for, so my first score better be good.

After graduating from college in 2013, I decided to study for the LSAT the following summer, with plans to take it in October. I saw a 22 point increase after 3 months of self study (153 diagnostic, 175 final score). I studied intensely for 3 months while teaching English classes to elementary and middle school students part­ time. I consistently put in 4 1/2 ­to 5 hours of studying per day with only a few days off here and there when I needed a break.